Charging mechanism for automatic firearms



MEich 27, 1945.

G. WEBB CHARGING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS Filed Feb. 16, 1942 2 Sheets-She et l J vent or 55011475 P151717 G. WEBB March 27, 1945.

CHARGING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS Filed Feb. 16, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y I. I m m fl J M. "A" 0 E M 5% .I W T: m E 5 Patented Mar. 27, 1945 CHARGING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS George Webb, Hartford, Conn, assignor to Colts Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company, Hartford, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application February 16, 1942, Serial No. 431,031

Claims.

This invention relates to a, charging mechanism for an automatic firearm and, more particularly, a manually operable charging mechanism for retracting the lock frame, charger, and their related parts included in the firearm to re-cock the trigger or extract a misfired cartridge and charge another one into the breech.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide means for expeditiously retracting the lock frame and related parts by having said means move the parts in recoil direction without danger to the operator.

Another object of the invention is to provide reciprocable means mounted on the firearm and having a portion adapted to be moved into engagement with the operating lever for the breech block or lock frame to move the lock frame and charger in recoil direction for purposes of cock ing the firearm or extracting a misfired cartridge from the chamber and ejecting it from the firearm.

A still further object of the invention is to provide manually operable means mounted on the firearm, for reciprocable movement therewith, and adapted to be brought into engagement with the operating lever carried by the lock frame to move them in recoil direction, and also including retracting mechanism which will automatically return the means to inoperative position, out of engagement with the operating lever.

To this latter end, a further object of the invention is to provide means to releasably retain the operating lever actuating mechanism in inoperative or retracted position.

Other objects and advantages of the instant invention will become apparent from considering the following specification and the attached drawings forming a part of this application:

The accompanying drawings show the embodiment of the invention which is deemed preferable, but it will be understood that the drawings are intended for illustrative purposes only and are not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention, the claims forming a part of this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a side elevation of an automatic firearm embodying the charging mechanism and showing the same in full lines out of engagement with the operating lever and, in dotted lines, showing the charging mechanism in engagement with the operating lever and after it has moved the operating lever partially rearward.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation similar to Fig. 1 but showing the charging mechanism in substantially fully extended position and the operating lever in substantially full recoil position. v

Fig. 3 is a side elevation similar to Figs. 1 and 2 but showing the lock frame in full recoil position and the charging mechanism returned to inoperative position.

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation on the line 55 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a plan View, on enlarged scale, of

the charging mechanism, part of the charging mechanism and its supporting means being in section and the charging mechanism also having a medial portion broken away to shorten the view.

Fig. '7 is a side elevation, on enlarged scale, of the charging mechanism shown in its'relative position with respect to the recuperator tube and associated parts of a firearm, shown in dot and dash lines, part of the charging mechanism being in section and the medial portion thereof broken away to shorten the view.

The charging mechanism forming the instant invention is primarily for use in conjunction with relatively large caliber automatic firearms, one example of which is a caliber 3'7 mm. automatic cannon, although its use is not restricted to use with large caliber firearms. Automatic firearms of the type on which the instant charging mechanism is adapted for use are frequently used for anti-aircraft purposes and during anti-aircraft firing, the firearm is frequently elevated to a high angle. The breech block operating lever, by which the lock frame and associated parts may be manually charged, is pivotally mounted on the reciprocable lock frame. When the firearm is supported by amount and particularly when the firearm is disposed at a, high angle, the operating lever is disposed in an unhandy and rela tively inaccessible position in the vicinity of the base of the mount so that it is diificult to manually engage and actuate the operating lever to charge the firearm should it be necessary to do so as, for example, when a cartridge misfires,

and it is desired to extract the misfired cartridge or should it be desired to re-cock the firearm.

The usual mounts for operatively supporting automatic firearms such as caliber 37 mm. automatic cannons have means to directly. engage securing means on the breech casing of the firearmto support the firearm in the mount. If the mount includes elevating mechanism, the latter is commonly in the form of a quadrant worm gear having a worlnmeshing therewith. This of the operating lever results.

elevator mechanism is generally disposed close to the breech block operating lever whereby obstructed and encumbered manual manipulation This is true even when the firearm is not disposed in elevated firing position. Even in mounts not adapted for high angle elevation, the portion of the mount disposed below the firearm usually offersan obstruction to the ready manipulation of the breech block operating lever.

Attempts have been made to remedy the awkward situation referred to above by using a hooked rod to engage the operating lever from the rear of the breech casing to retract the operating lever in charging or recoil direction but the use of such a rod is slow and inconvenient particularly since the hooked rod does not form an integral part of the firearm and is in no way attached thereto. Such a hooked rod constitutes an extra implement that must be carried with the firearm as supplementary equipment and, from this standpoint, is a nuisance.

In addition to the manipulation of the operating lever being awkward when operated by the above described method, it is also hazardous since the unexpected discharge of the firearm as the operating lever is about to be retracted might result in serious injury to, the gunner operating the firearm. The very quick movement of the operating lever as well as other parts of the fire-- arm following firing of the cartridge, together with the ejection of the empty cartridge casin offer numerous possibilities for inflicting injury upon the gunner.

The instant invention has been developed to provide charging mechanism which is quickly at tachable to an automatic firearm of the type described so that it constitutes an integral part of the firearm and thus may be manually actuated quickly and with safety to the operator to engage and move the operating lever to charge the firearm for the purposes described above. The charging mechanism in no way interferes with the normal functions of other component parts of the firearm or mountin any position of elevation of the same. Also, the charging mechanism offers no interference to the ready ejection of misfired cartridges when dropping from the opening provided for this purpose in the bottom of the breech casing.

The charging mechanism is readily operable in all positions of elevation of the firearm, and particularly where the mount permits high angle elevation, without having other parts of the firearm interfere with the manipulation of' the charging mechanism. This is due to the major portion of the charging mechanism being disposed on the firearm forward of the means for securing the firearm to the mount. The manually engageable actuating means are normally far forward of all parts of the mount which might'otherwise obstruct manipulation of said actuating means.

In addition, the charging mechanism offers a relatively non-hazardous manner of charging the firearm since the mechanism is located in a position on the firearm wherein the gunner or operator may manipulate the mechanism from a relatively safe position even though the firearm should for any reason unexpectedly discharge as the device is about to be recharged.

Referring to the drawings, for purposes of illustrating the characteristics and method of operation of the charging mechanism, the same has been shown attached to an automatic firearm of the caliber 37 mm. automatic cannon type such as is disclosed in U. S. Patent 1,525,065 to Browning and applicants co-pending application Serial No. 325,405 filed March 22, 1940.

The firearm comprises a breech casing in having a barrel H projecting from the forward end thereof, a securing rib l2 provided on each side of the breech casing and adapted to be received in suitable grooves in the mount, a notch. l3 formed in each securing rib l2 and adapted to receive a movable locking detent on the mount, a feed box I 4 mounted on the top side of the breech casing, a recuperator mechanism enclosed in a recuperator tube I6, and a lock frame reciprocably mounted within the breech casing and having depending members l8 and I8 fixed thereto, the member 18 pivotally supporting a breech block operating lever 20 which has a manipulating handle portion 22 on the lower end thereof. The operating lever 20 may be termed a reciprocable charging member projecting from the breech casing. Cam plates 24 and 26 also project from the bottom of the breech casing and contain suitable cam slots to engage appropriate pins on the operating lever to pivotally move said operating lever about its pivot for purposes of properly manipulating the elements of the firearm controlled and actuated thereby.

During the normal course of operating the firearm, should a cartridge misfire, automatic ejection of the cartridge will not take place and the same must be removed by manually manipulating the operating lever 22 to retract the lock frame which movement removes the cartridge from the breech of the barrel and permits it to fall through an appropriate opening in the bottom of the breech casing. If it is desired to only re-cock the firearm, the operating lever is moved only a relatively short distance rearward, sufliciently to operate the cocking mechanism within the breech casing, following which the lock frame is automatically moved forward to firing position by a pair of reaction or driving springs disposed re spectively on opposite sides of the recuperator tube and each spring is enclosed in a tube 28. Said springs normally serve to automatically move the lock frame forward following recoil thereof.- A composite driving spring tube support or guard comprising sections 29, 29, and 29 is provided for each tube and is secured to the recuperator tube in any suitable manner such as bywelding, brazing or the like. Each guard section is longitudinally recessed to receive a driving spring tube and projects laterally from the side of the recuperator tube. Certain sections of the tube support, in efiect, serve to support a tubular guide member from the underside of the recuperator tube by brackets secured to the tube support sections and the cylin l i e ber, details of which will be presently described. Details of the mechanism enclosed in said tubes and associated therewith and the functions thereof will be found clearly described in U. S. Patent 1,852,057 to Moore and Pfeifi'e'r.

The securing ribs 12 disposed on opposite sides of the breech casing are adapted to be received in suitable opposed grooves provided in the mount. The notches I3 receive movable looking pins provided in the mount to prevent movement of the firearm with respect to the mount. The mount is usually provided with. supporting and/ or elevating mechanism disposed at each side of and below the breech casing whereby the operating lever 20 will be disposed in such a position with respect to said mount that manual manlpulation thereof will be awkward, cumbersome, and slow, as well as hazardous for reasons explained above.

The lock frame charging mechanism which comprises the present invention and which in the preferred embodiment is mounted on the recuperator tube l5, consists of a substantially cylindrical tube 30 which encloses a helical compression spring 32 mounted therein. It is to be understood that the tube may have a cross section of any polygonal shape, however, rather than circular. The wall of the tube 30'has a slot 34 formed therein, extending longitudinally thereof for a substantial portion of the length of the tube. The slot is substantially parallel to the axis of the tube.

One end of the tube is formed with a ortion 35 having a reduced. diameter. An annular shoulder 38 is formed on the tube at the inner end of the reduced portion 35. The outer end of the reduced portion is threaded to receive an internally threaded cap 48. A guide member 42 having anaperture formed centrally therein is mounted on the reduced portion of the tube 30, one face of the guide member 42 abutting the shoulder 38. The cap 48, when threaded onto the tube 30, engages the opposite face of the guide member and secures the same to the tube. The cap 40 also serves as an abutment for one end of the spring 32.

Reciprocably mounted in the opposite end-of the tube 30 is a piston 44 which has a central portion of reduced diameter. Obviously, the cross-sectional shape of the end portions of the piston will be the same as that of the interior of the tube 30. The innermost end of the piston engages with the spring 32. The opposite end of the piston has a cavity 45 extending inward to provide an annular surface adapted to abut against bufier mechanism consisting of an externally threaded cap 46 which is threaded into the end of the tube 30 containing the piston. A headed bolt 48 is threadably received. in a suitable aperture in the cap 46. The cap 46 has a recess 5!! extending inward from the inner end thereof to provide a. chamber receiving a plurality of spring washers 52 which are mounted on and surround the headed bolt 48. Disposed betWeen the head of the bolt and the spring washers I is a washer 54 preferably formed of fibre or other suitable cushioning material and with which the annular end of piston 44 engages upon movement of the piston to its forward position in tube 30 by spring 32.

The buffer mechanism consisting of the bolt 48, washers 52 and 54 and supporting ca 46 may be removed as a unit from the end of the tube 30.

The tube 30 and the mechanism included therein is mounted on the recuperator tube it by a pair of brackets which are secured by bolts or screws directly to the underside of certain sections of the driving spring tube support 29, 29 and 29 One bracket 56 is integral with the guide member 42 and has a concave surface to closely fit the contour of the recuperator tube IS. The bracket is also suitably formed with counter-bored cylindrical openings 58 adapted to receive said securing bolts or screws for attaching the bracket to the driving spring tube support which has threaded apertures formed therein (not shown) to receive said screws or bolts.

The other bracket 60 has a similar concave surface to engage the recuperator tube. bracket is provided with counter-bored cylindrical openings 58 similar to those in bracket 56 whereby the bracket Bil may be attached to the driving spring tube support in like manner to the bracket 56. The bracket 80 is also provided with an integral annular collar 62 which surrounds the tube 30 to support the forward end thereof.

Reciprocably mounted on the outer surface of the tube 30 is a sleeve 64 having a pair of ears 66 projecting outward from the sleeve in opposite directions. The ears 66 are provided with threaded apertures to receive threaded ends of a pair of spaced rods 68.- The threaded connection between the ends of rods 68 and the' apertures of ears 66 may be made; fast in any suitable manner such as by suitably drilling the ears'and rods with a tapered hole adapted to receive tapered locking pins 69 which may be secured in the tapered holes in any appropriate way such as by a driving fit.

The rods are substantially parallel to each other and the tube 30 and are disposed on opposite sides of the tube 30. The rearward ends of the rods 88' project through guide bearings 10 formed in the guide member 42 for reciprocable movement in said guide bearings.

A foot plate 12 is provided with a pair of apertures 14 in opposite ends thereof, the apertures being counter-bored from opposite ends to provide annular shoulders within the apertures. One

shoulder of each aperture is adapted to receive the end ofone of the rods 68 and the other annular shoulder is adapted to be engaged by the head of a headed bolt 16 which passes through the aperture and is received by an internally threaded hole formed in the end of each rod 68 whereby the foot plate is secured to the pair of rods 68in such a way that thrust imposed against the outer face of the foot plate l2 will be directly transmitted to the ends of the rods 68.

As shown in Fig. 3, the foot plate 12 is adapted to be moved into engagement with operating lever handle 22 to move it and the lock frame as well as other parts connected therewith to full recoil position to eject a misfired cartridge from the breech and through the opening in the bottom of the breech casing provided for this purpose.

The rods 68, when in the position shown in Fig. 3,

are substantially co-extensivelongitudinally with this bottom opening. The rods are sufficiently spaced apart. on either side of said opening'to provide a clear passage of an ejected cartridge therebetween.

In the present illustration, the rods 68 are shown to be tubular members, but it is to be understood that they could equally well be solid.

The sleeve 64 is also provided with internally threaded projections ll extending in opposite directions therefrom, each projection having actuating means for the sleeve 84 comprising a handle 78 threadably mounted therein, the handles extending substantially transverse to the axis of the tube 30. I

It will be readily'seen from Figs. 1 and 3, that when the sleeve 64 and handles 18 are in their forward position on the firearm, which position may also be referred to as the normal or retracted position, they are readily accessible by the gunner to manipulate the chargin mechanism no matter what position the gun may be in The ward on the firearmv and are not interfered with by the mounting means for the firearm.

A projection 80 is formed on thesleeve 64 and extends from the lower side thereof, the projection being centrally bored to receive a locking pin 82 having a threaded inner end of reduced diameter. the tube 30 and has. its inner end threadably received in aperture 84 in the piston 44 as best shown in Fig. 5.

The locking pin 82 secures the sleeve 64 to the piston 44 whereby these elements may move as a unit when the sleeve 64 is reciprocated by actuation of one or both of the handles 18 bythe gunner. 64 and piston 44 and also passes through the slot 34 in tube 30, movement of the sleeve 64 and the parts connected thereto will be guided by the slot 34 in a substantially rectilinear path parallel to the axis of tube 30 and no appreciable rotatable movement of the sleeve 64 will take place with respect to the tube 30..

Movement of the sleeve 64 is directly transmitted through rods 68 to the foot plate 12 which is adapted to engage and actuate the handle 22 of operating lever 20 to either re-cock the firearm or extract and eject a misfired cartridge and charge the firearm with a new cartridge.

. Movement of the foot plate 12 is thus guided by the rods 68 passing through the guide bearings 10 and the sleeve 64 sliding on the exterior of tube 30.

Following the charging function, the handles 18 may be released by the gunner and the spring 32 will restore the movable component parts of the charging mechanism to the relative positions shown in Figs. 1, 3, 6 and 7, the shock of the return of the moving parts of the charging mechanism being absorbed by the bufier mechanism arranged at the forward end of the tube 30,

Upon the return of the, component movable parts of the charging mechanism to startin or retracted position illustrated in Figs. 1, 3, 6 and '7, such movable parts may be releasably secured in said position by latching mechanism comprising a spring catch 86 which is illustrated herein as attached at one end to the under side of the annular collar 62 by a bolt or screw 88. The other end of the spring catch is provided with a locking detent 90 adapted to engage the projecting end of locking pin 82. The same end of the spring catch is provided with an outward and downward projecting finger engaging portion 92 which is disposed in the immediate vicinity of the handles 18 when the latter are in retracted position as is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Upon grasping the handle 18 to begin to actuate the charging mechanism, the gunner may readily engage the portion 92 of the spring catch with the thumb of the same hand used to engage the handle and unlatch the catch from the pin 82 to free the sleeve 64 and the parts secured thereto to permit the gunner to charge the lock frame.

The latching mechanism is particularly useful to hold the foot plate 12 out of engagement with the operating lever handle 22 in the event the spring 32 should fail or become weak.

It will thus be seen that the entire charging mechanism consists of a compact unit having attaching brackets formed thereon whereby the unit may be readily attached either to a new firearm or one that has been in use. The only preliminary steps which are necessary to be taken to secure the instant charging mechanism to a firearm are to suitably drill the underside of the Inasmuch as pin 82. connects the sleeve The pin 82 extends through the slot 34 in driving spring tube supports with the necessary number of apertures and thread said apertures to receive the bolts or screws by which the brackets 56 and 60 are attached to the recuperator tube. In the case of a newly manufactured firearm, the provision of such threaded apertures in the driving spring, tube supports is a simple matter. In the case of attaching the charging mechanism to a firearm not previously equipped with such mechanism, forming such threaded apertures in the driving spring tube supports is a relatively easy operation.

As may be seen from the foregoing, the present invention comprises a charging mechanism readily attachable to a firearm and particularly to the recuperator tube of a firearm of the caliber 3'7 mm. automatic cannon type. The charging mechanism is simple and sturdy and is provided with shock absorbing means which will tend to add to the life of the device. Furthermore, operating handles for manually manipulating the charging mechanism are disposed on opposite sides thereof whereby a gunner may actuate the mechanism from either side of the firearm, it only being necessary to grasp one of the handles to actuate the mechanism. Still further, the location of the handles and the path through which they move are such that, while actuating the charging mechanism, the gunner is in a substantially non-hazardous position should a misfired cartridge unexpectedly discharge as the gunner is about to actuate the mechanism. The handles are also always initially in a readily accessible position forward of the means for securing the gun in the mount. Automatic means for returning the moving parts of the charging mechanism to starting or retracted position are provided, as well as latching means for releasably securing the movable parts in their retracted position. In addition, the spaced rods supporting the foot plate for engaging the operating lever provide a clear path through which ejected misfired cartridges may readily pass.

In connection with the use of the descriptive terms forward, rearward, and the like throughout the specification, these terms are to be considered as referring to the forward end of the firearm which is that end from which the barrel projects and the opposite end of the firearm is considered the rearward end thereof.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in its preferred embodiment and has included certain details, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise details herein illustrated and described since the same may be carried out in other ways, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim is:

1. An actuator mechanism adapted to be mounted on an automatic firearm having a movable charging member, said mechanism comprising a guide member having means by which it may be attached to the firearm, a sleeve mounted on said guide member and adapted for reciprocable movement thereon, a pair of spaced rods secured to said sleeve for reciprocable movement therewith and disposed on opposite sides of said guide member, said rods being spaced sufficiently to pass a cartridge casing therebetween, a member secured to the other end of each of said rods and adapted to engage the movable charging member of said firearm when the sleeve is reciprocated on the guide member in one direction, and means connected to said sleeve and by which thereto, one of said brackets having a plurality of spaced guide bearings formed therein, a sleeve mounted on said guide member and adapted for reciprocable movement thereon, a plurality of spaced rods each secured at one end to said sleeve,

said rods each being reciprocably mounted in i one of said guide bearings, and said rods also being spaced sufficiently to pass a cartridge casing therebetween, a member secured to said plurality of rods and adapted to engage said charging member when moved in one direction with said rods and sleeve, and actuating means connected to said sleeve and by which said sleeve may be manually actuated to move said last mentioned member into engagement with said charging member and actuate the same.

3.,An actuator mechanism adapted to be mounted on an automatic firearm having a movable charging member, said mechanism comprising a tubular guide member, a plurality of brackets fixed to said guide member and by which the same is adapted to be secured to said firearm, one of said brackets having a plurality of spaced uide bearings formed therein, a sleeve mounted on said tubular guide member and adapted for reciprocable movement thereon, a piston mounted within the said tubular guide member and secured to said sleeve for movement therewith, a plurality of spaced rods each secured at one end to said sleeve, said rods each being reciprocally mounted in one of said guide bearings and said rods also being spaced sufiiciently to pass a car-v tridge casing therebetween, a member secured to said rods and adapted to engage said charging member when said sleeve and rods are moved in one direction, and a bufier carried by said tubular guide member and adapted to be engaged by said piston to cushion and stop the movement of said piston and members movable therewith in a direction opposite to said last mentioned direction.

4. An actuator mechanism adapted to be mounted on an automatic firearm having a movable charging member, said mechanism comprising a guide member having means by which it may be attached to the firearm, a sleeve mounted on said guide member and adapted for reciprocable movement thereon, a pair of spaced rods secured to said sleeve for reciprocable movement therewith andvdisposed on opposite sides of said guide member, said rods being spaced suiflciently to pass a cartridge casing therebetween, a member secured to the other end of each of said rods and adapted to engage the movable charging member of said firearm when the sleeve is recipiii) .rocated on the guide member in one direction,

means connected to said sleeve and by which the same may be manually actuated to move said last mentioned member into engagement with said charging member, and a latch stationarily mounted with respect to said guide member and constructed and arranged to interengage said sleeve and releasably retain the member connected to said sleeve out of engagement with said charging member of said firearm.

5. An actuator mechanism adapted to be mounted on an automatic firearm having a movable charging member, said mechanism comprising a guide member having means by which it may be attached to the firearm, a sleeve mounted on said guide member and adapted for reciprocable movement thereon, a pair of spaced rods secured to said sleeve for reciprocable movement therewith and disposed on opposite sides of said guide member, said rods being spaced sufficiently to pass a cartridge casing therebetween, a member secured to the other end of each of said rods and adapted to engage the movable charging member of said firearm when the sleeve is reciprocated on the guide member in one direction, and a pair of handlesrespectively connected to and projecting from opposite sides of said sleeve and by which said sleeve may be manually actuated to move said last mentioned member into engagement with said charging member.

GEORGE WEBB. 

